BioFabUSA, a Department of Defense-sponsored Manufacturing Innovation Institute, last week announced the launch of the Biofabrication Technician Registered Apprenticeship Program to empower America's workforce with essential skills and knowledge for careers in the biofabrication sector while helping the Department meet the science and technology challenges for decades to come.
As an emerging engineering discipline, biotechnology can change the way DOD conducts missions and performs in contested logistics environments. Leveraging biotechnology will enable the Department to stay ahead of competitors in science and technology by taking advantage of these fast-moving technological developments.
Biofabrication uses biologic raw materials such as living cells, matrices, biomaterials, and molecules to produce novel equipment, and is a sub-discipline in biotechnology – one of 14 critical technology areas managed by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.
BioFabUSA integrates innovative cell and tissue cultures with advances in biofabrication, automation, robotics, and analytical technologies to create disruptive research and development tools and FDA-compliant volume manufacturing processes. One example is a BioFabUSA-developed process that strips cells from a porcine heart to leave a "scaffold," on which personalized human heart cells can be grown.
BioFabUSA's Apprenticeship Program will initially focus on engaging veterans, a priority for the Department due to the valuable skills and experiences they bring to the defense manufacturing industry. Once within the program, individuals will be considered for admission into one of two tracks, the Registered Apprenticeship Program and the Embedded Certificate Program. Both tracks include potential follow-on employment by prospective employers.
